


Truth and Consequences

by DiscipleOfBrad



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Awkward Conversations, Conversations, Episode: s09e07 The Zygon Invasion, Episode: s09e08 The Zygon Inversion, F/M, Flirting, Fluff, Love Confessions, Post-Episode: s09e07-08 The Zygon Invasion/The Zygon Inversion, Post-Episode: s09e08 The Zygon Inversion, Romance, Soppy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-05-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:13:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24107284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DiscipleOfBrad/pseuds/DiscipleOfBrad
Summary: The Doctor went through a lot to stop the Zygons. After almost losing Clara once again, maybe it's time for him to build up the courage to talk to her
Relationships: Twelfth Doctor/Clara Oswin Oswald
Comments: 3
Kudos: 68





	Truth and Consequences

**Author's Note:**

> A special short story to celebrate #TruthOrConsequences. Hope you enjoy and don't forget to follow on Twitter @matthewholmes45

The Doctor closed the Tardis doors as the two Osgoods walked away, letting out a tired sigh as he did so. The two Osgoods. That had already been confusing and now there was no chance of him figuring those two out. He knew for a fact that at least one of them was a Zygon. It was possible that they both were, in fact, secretly large red aliens with an overabundance of suckers. The only consolation was that they were seemingly sticking to their impeccable dress sense. They’d been just one factor in this adventure. Yet another race against an imaginary clock to save the world before it was too late. The knife edge that the Earth precariously balanced on between war and peace most of the time had been greatly heightened. He’d ultimately found a way out of it, like he normally did. But it had taken a lot out of him, bringing up old memories that he normally preferred to keep hidden away. His anger and fury over the endless cycle of conflicts and wars that he went through wherever he travelled to had bubbled over, laying his heart on the line in a rare show of raw emotion to convince Bonnie (or Zygella, he didn't mind which name he used) to do the right thing. Thankfully it had worked, even if there had never been a deadly weapon awaiting activation at the press of a button. It showed him that he could still change people’s hearts when he really needed to, when he put a lot of effort in. It gave him the courage to try the same on his best friend whenever they next met. A man could dream, after all.

Then there was Clara. People had died during all of this. The usual nameless faces that he saw perish or heard about afterwards, being told their usually gruesome fates. But, for a moment, he had thought that Clara, _his_ Clara, had died too. And his world had fallen apart as he listened intently on the mobile phone just before the plane exploded. For a brief second, he had contemplated staying on the aircraft so that he could embrace its fiery end. So that he wouldn’t have to live in a universe that was a lot less brighter than it had once been. Her smile could light up a thousand thousand galaxies and the mere thought of that no longer being the case had crushed him. He’d eventually gotten a hold of himself, realising that the rest of humanity would still need him, and had figured out that she was still alive. But the scare had brought home the fact that he cared for her too much. It was frightening how frightened he had been at the prospect of losing her. To never get to claim he didn't want a hug, tricking her into giving him one in what she saw as a punishment but he thought of as the best sensation in the cosmos. To never tease her endlessly to hide his true feelings - that she was perfect in every way and would never want her to change. It had awoken something within him. He had a decision to make. Push her away and keep her alive. Or be selfish and make it clear how he felt, risking her running away from him or, even worse, dying as a result of their increased closeness.

She was standing by the Tardis console, keeping her mind on a button that she knew didn't actually do anything. She looked vastly different to what she normally did. Her hair was straighter, the few curls he adored no longer visible. Her outfit was much darker than usual too, a black trenchcoat with a white shirt. And her lips were all coloured in red that he’d seen humans do sometimes. Yet she still looked like his Clara. When he thought about it, Bonnie had been a pale imitation. Nothing could replicate his impossible girl. Her eyes flickered over to his as he walked past her, pulling down the dematerialisation lever to send them into the time vortex. The Tardis was quiet, as if the time machine knew that they needed to talk and she wanted to encourage them to get it over with quickly. Having two moping people inside her was not something she particularly enjoyed.

“You must have thought that I was dead for a while there,” she risked saying, keeping her eyes fixed on anything that wasn’t him. 

“Longest month of my life,” he replied instantly.

“It can’t have been more than five minutes.”

“I’ll be the judge of time.” She eyed him curiously as he said that, staring at him with an open mouth as he trudged away. She wasn’t going to let him just walk away after that comment. He was hiding something, she could tell. Maybe it was time for them to talk and have that much needed conversation. She raced up the steps, overtaking him much to his bemusement and jumping onto _his_ chair that was definitely _hers_. Her hair flowed as she landed, not breaking eye contact as she gave him a defiant look. “What are you doing?” Maybe the Zygon process had messed with her head more than he realised. 

“We need to talk.”

“...I thought that...was what we were doing...right now.” He was completely flummoxed by her behaviour.

“Talk properly.” She needed to be patient but he was testing what little of it she had left.

“We are stringing words together in coherent sentences, aren’t we? Or has someone done something to us that I don’t know about?”

“I am trying really hard not to kill you right now.”

“I haven’t done anything!” he moaned. “You’re the one who is being weird! Well, weirder than normal.” He said the last bit in a low whisper, hoping she wouldn’t be able to hear. Judging from how she sat up straighter with a dangerous glare on her face, he realised that he hadn’t gotten away with it.

“I’m going to pretend that you didn't say that.”

“How very charitable. Now, are you going to tell me what’s going on or are you going to carry on pouting at me?” She accentuated the pout further and he had to stop himself from focusing too much on her red lips. He needed his wits about him. _Stay focused._

“People like me and you...they should talk when they have the chance. Because, otherwise, we’re going to end up missing the last opportunity and we’ll hate ourselves for not doing it.”

“And...this is one of those...chances?” 

She smiled. He was making progress. Infuriatingly slow progress but progress all the same.

“Exactly. Because I thought that I wasn’t going to be able to see you ever again. I hardly knew what was going on, being trapped in that pod, but what kept me going was the small chance of returning to you. Do you understand what I mean?”

“That I’m just so charming and charismatic that it would be a shame to lose me?”   
  
She growled as she stood up, closing the distance between them. “Add to that, incredibly egotistical and boastful.”

“No wonder we get along so well then.” 

She grinned playfully. “Yeah. You’re onto something there.”

“So...when I called you an egomaniac needy game player and you complained...that was you lying?”

“You’re getting ever so close to never being able to go out of this Tardis alive.” The Doctor held his hands up in surrender. He knew how dangerous she could be. “Can we talk? I know you don’t do emotions very well but I feel that we need to do this. Get everything out in the open and suffer the consequences.” She shouted in triumph. “Truth or consequences! Or...truth and consequences.” She winked at her word play that he was less than impressed with. 

“You’re not going to let me go even if I say no, aren’t you?” he sighed.

“It’s good to see you learning after all of this time. Now...sit.” She gestured to the chair she had just vacated and he moved over to it, falling gently into its cushy embrace. Clara perched on the arm, peering down at him. “What did you think when you thought that I was dead?” 

He sputtered, caught off guard by the question. “Not holding back are you?” 

She shrugged. “There’s no point in doing so. I want answers.”

“If you must know...my first thoughts were that I had failed you. I have a duty of care, after all.”

“You keep banging on about that, yes. But, just know, that if it does ever happen, you can’t blame yourself. Not even a tiny bit. I’d die extremely happy after all the adventures we’ve been on. So many extraordinary things we’ve seen. I’d be content in knowing how lucky I’ve been.” 

The Doctor scowled at her. “That’s not the point. Because I then started thinking about how I’d go out of my way to bring you back. Nothing would stop me.” 

She placed a hand on his arm. “Although that’s incredibly sweet, I don’t want you torturing yourself for me. Ever.” Her large brown eyes were staring at him and he was struggling not to get lost in them.

“Tough. Because how could I ever live without you? How could I wake up knowing that I wouldn’t get to see that face, that smile? Knowing that you wouldn’t be there to make sarcastic comments whenever I spoke or think that you can actually fly the Tardis.”

“Hey! I’m getting better.”

“Maybe. But I haven’t finished teaching you and I’d hate for our lessons to come to an end when I have years and years planned.” 

Her breath caught in her throat. “Years and years?” 

His eyebrows knitted together in confusion. “Of course. What did you expect? I want you here for as long as possible.”

“Really? I was worried that you’d eventually grow tired of me and find someone better.”

“There could never be anyone better than you, my Impossible Girl.” He took her hand in his and placed it to his lips. She watched the action closely, savouring the intimacy.

“Just so you know...I felt the same way. When I thought you’d...gone. At that underwater base. My world crumbled around me and I was filled with this intense sorrow that I’ve never felt before. Not even with Danny and I was heartbroken about him.”

“I noticed. I still have nightmares about volcanoes.” 

Clara grimaced apologetically. “I’m still sorry about that.” Her eyes lit up mischievously. She wanted to take a chance. Before he could react, she was sliding off the arm and into his lap, loud protests coming from the Time Lord. She just smothered him, wrapping her arms around his lean body and resting her head on his shoulder. “Shush. Let me do this. You have no idea how tempted I’ve been in the past to do this when I’ve seen you sitting up here, reading a book or just thinking..” He was surprised about how he wasn’t complaining about it as much as he’d expected.

“Why...didn't you?”

“Because I was scared. I thought you’d react in a strange way, get all jumpy or something. Like when I try to give you a hug.”

“I’d let you do anything you wanted, Miss Oswald.” 

She brought her head up, looking directly into his piercing blue eyes. “Anything?”   
  
He was shocked by the intensity of her gaze. “Anything.” 

That was all the invitation she needed, moving that tiny bit closer to lock her lips with his. He was shy at first before he grew into it, enjoying the touch and taste of her. They only parted when they struggled to breathe although he was willing to continue even if it killed him. It would be worth it and by far his favourite death. She looked at him with wide eyes, seeing how stunned he was. 

“We just did that.”

“I think we did.”

“Why did you let me?” This couldn’t possibly be real. No way.

“Isn’t that obvious?”

“Tell me. I want to hear it. Tell me the truth and suffer the consequences, mister.” 

He smiled at her, that shy grin she adored. “Clara Oswald...you are the only mystery I have ever wanted to solve. I thought that I’d pieced you together after a while but there’s still so much I want to learn about you. The little details about your life that you think are insignificant but I’d find the most interesting pieces of information in the universe. And I hope I can continue to do this and spend time with you, especially doing _this…_ ” He gestured to their close position and she blushed, having almost forgotten about how brave she’d been. “...for many years to come. If you want me.” She kissed him again, quicker this time but with no less meaning and significance.

“That would make me the happiest girl in the cosmos. But can you deal with me for that long?”

“I’ve faced Daleks, Cybermen and every other vile creature out there. I think I can just manage to survive with a pint-sized woman.” She hit his arm at the insult despite the warm, fuzzy feeling inside of her.

“I wonder how many adventures we’ll go on. Racing across the universe, saving the good guys, beating the bad guys, and looking good doing it.” She admired his ruffled hair, looking forward to making it even messier. 

“We don’t have to go straight away.” His cheeks turned pink when she smirked at what he was implying. “I mean...I have just saved the world. I deserve the break.” 

She pretended to think about the proposition. “Who knew that you could be such a massive flirt? I like it. No... _love_ it.”   
  
He grinned when she said _that_ word. He knew what she really meant and he held her face, looking at her intently to convey that same emotion. “Are you in agreement then?

“I’m ready for any and all of the brilliant consequences of what we’ve just done. The universe won’t know what hit it.” They sat in a momentary silence, watching the central column move up and down. A lifetime of adventures awaited them but, for now, they could savour the moment of when they’d finally taken the chance to just... _sit down and talk_.


End file.
